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About DeKalb County Community Gardens
DeKalb County Community Gardens (DCCG) is a non-profit organization that empowers people to choose healthy and sustainable foods through education and participation. DCCG was started in 2012 by Dan Kenney to help end hunger and food insecurity in DeKalb County, IL. We provide access to fresh, local, sustainably-grown organic vegetables for all who may be in need with more than 15 acres of growing space. In two short years, DCCG has produced nearly ten tons of food donated to local food pantries, day care centers, schools, community meal locations, senior citizen centers and housing units, as well as to the meals on wheels program. DCCG has gardens all over the county, with over 200 raised beds as well as large acreages.
How we help feed people who have serious barriers to accessing food:
Ending
Hunger
DCCG works to end hunger in DeKalb County by growing thousands of pounds of sustainably grown produce each year for individuals and families in need. DCCG accomplishes this by working with over 70 community partners and growing food on over 57 community garden plots throughout the county. DCCG distributes this fresh, local and sustainable produce to area food pantries, shelters, low-income housing units, and community meal sites. DCCG uses the gardens to educate individuals of all ages how to grow their own food so they can make healthy food choices. DCCG also operates a mobile food pantry that brings produce directly into the communities that are food deserts, that is, not having a grocery store, farmers’ market, or healthy food provider within 1.5 miles.
Empowering Individuals
DCCG works to empower individuals by educating people on the importance of eating local, fresh, nutritious food and teaching them how to grow their own produce from planting to harvest. DCCG offers classes and educational outreach events at our community gardens, all of our school gardens, and the Communiversity Garden at Northern Illinois University. Through DCCG’s Walnut Grove Vocational Farm, young adults with special needs complete individualized programs that provide them real life experience working on a farm and in greenhouses. These skills help them find agricultural and horticultural employment and become self-sufficient, contributing members of society.
Growing Community
DCCG’s community gardens, sited all over DeKalb County, offer a place for people to come together to address common issues of food insecurity and barriers to access fresh, nutritious, sustainably grown food. These gardens help people meet their neighbors, share ideas, learn from one another and strengthen their communities. Through DCCG’s Community Growers Program, gardens are established in low-income neighborhoods and individuals from those communities are hired to manage the gardens. This project provides training and employment to individuals while strengthening the community’s ties to the gardens and local food.